Falkenstein Castle

Falkenstein Castle is a hilltop castle above the climatic health resort of Markt Falkenstein in the Upper Palatinate district of Cham. The castle is located on a granite rock at an altitude of 626 meters above sea level and about 60 meters above the valley floor of the Perlbach. In good visibility, the view from the tower extends to the Großer Arber in the east and to the foothills of the Alps.

The towering granite cone was fortified in 1074 as a protective and defensive castle by the Prince-Bishopric of Regensburg under Bishop Tuto. Together with the castles of Wörth and Donaustauf, it secured the eastern area of the Prince-Bishopric of Regensburg. The first written record dates back to the years 1129 to 1130, when a Rudolf von Valchenstein and an Otto von Valchenstein appear in the documents. These may have been members of the Neuburg-Falkenstein family. In 1150, the keep was built. Towards the end of the 12th century, the castle passed to the Counts of Bogen. When this family died out with Count Adalbert V in 1242, the Wittelsbachs inherited the property. The ownership was not clear, because when Konrad II von Hohenfels got into a dispute with his neighbors in Brennberg in 1232, he returned the castle to Bishop Siegfried of Regensburg as part of a settlement. Thus, the Bishops of Regensburg always remained owners of the castle and lordship. A few years later, the Bishop of Regensburg returned the lordship of Falkenstein to the Hohenfels family. The castle then remained in the hands of the Hohenfels family for a longer period, but they became involved in ever new feuds with their neighbors. After the imposition of the Imperial Ban, Heinrich von Hohenfels - Falkenstein was forced in 1323 to sell the castle to King Ludwig IV the Bavarian. However, King Ludwig did not have the money to pay the purchase price, so he borrowed it from Landgrave Ulrich von Leuchtenberg. Since he could not repay the amount, the king ceded the castle and lordship to the Landgrave in 1327. In 1514, Duke Wilhelm IV gifted the castle to the Stauffers of Ehrenfels. Thereafter, the owners changed as follows:

• Preysing (1550 - 1565)
• Seyboldsdorf (1565 - 1590)
• Nothafft zu Wernberg (1590 - 1607)
• Khuen von Belasy (1607-1625)
• Maxlrain (1625 - 1664)
• Haslang zu Haslankreit (1629 - 1664)
• Maximilian von Törring (from 1664)

In the 17th century, the castle was reshaped with late Renaissance elements, such as the arcaded walkways on the ground and upper floors. The castle chapel, built onto the castle, dates back to Count Törring (from 1664). In 1829, the castle went for 150,000 fl. to the princely house of Thurn und Taxis. Due to its limited use, the complex fell into such disrepair in the 19th and 20th centuries that in 1967, the market town of Falkenstein had to acquire the dilapidated castle for a symbolic price of one Mark to save it from final decay. In 1978, the renovation work was completed. Since then, the restored castle has served as a 'House of the Guest' with gastronomy and a Hunting and Wildlife Museum, which is based on the collection of hunting trophies of the Hamburg notary Hans-Werner Schacht (1907-1981). Annual castle courtyard plays take place in the inner courtyard of the castle.